Spinal Cord Injuries

Living with a spinal cord injury can be incredibly challenging for individuals and families alike. Concerns about how to cover steep medical expenses and lost wages due to time away from work are almost always included in the first conversations after a serious accident, followed by questions about how to recover compensation from a negligent party.

At Salam & Associates, PC , our compassionate lawyers work with individuals and families affected by spinal cord injuries. With offices in Richardson, we serve throughout Texas and New Mexico. We are also able to meet with clients (by appointment only) at our Las Cruces location.

We understand the challenges you are facing as well as the difficulties you have yet to face. We will put our decades of experience and genuine empathy to work for you, helping you manage your financial future by taking legal action against the person or party responsible for your catastrophic injury.

How a Spinal Cord Injury Can Affect You

The degree to which your motor functions and abilities are affected will depend on where the spinal cord injury occurred and the severity of damage. Spinal cord injuries are classified as either incomplete or complete, which refers to how much function is lost due to the injury.

You may experience:

• Loss of movement or motor functions

• Loss of feeling in hands, feet and other parts of the body

• Leg paralysis (known as paraplegia)

• Full-body paralysis (called tetraplegia or quadriplegia)

• Loss of bladder and bowel control

• Difficulty swallowing

• Difficulty breathing

Spinal cord injuries often lead to permanent disability. C2 and C3 injuries can be fatal when they disrupt an individual’s ability to breathe independently.

A spinal cord injury can greatly affect your day-to-day life and require special accommodations, including:

• Buying a new home or remodeling an existing home for wheelchair accessibility

• Installing wheelchair ramps in your home

• Installing assistive equipment in the bathroom and bedroom

• Purchasing a wheelchair-accessible vehicle

• Purchasing a modified vehicle (in cases of paraplegia)

• Purchasing in-home medical devices and monitors

• Hiring a nurse for in-home care

• Switching occupations to better suit your abilities

Sources of Spinal Cord Injuries

A person may suffer a spinal cord injury when the head, spine or back experiences excessive pressure or blunt force trauma. This can happen in:

• Motor vehicle crashes — including car, truck and motorcycle collisions

• Bicycle collisions

• Boating accidents

• Trip-and-fall accidents

• Slip-and-fall accidents

• On-the-job accidents — including slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents on the job, construction accidents and accidents at oil and gas drilling sites

Let Us Address Your Present and Future Needs

The initial cost of a spinal cord injury can be staggering — totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars just in hospital bills and medical expenses. A person injured in an accident may even lose the ability to work — either temporarily or permanently — which can add to the financial strain.

Attorney Fatima Hassan-Sallam is a skilled negotiator and aggressive litigator with 25 years of experience handling a variety of catastrophic injury claims, including those involving spinal cord injuries.

She will thoroughly review your case and will look at every possible angle to determine the exact cause of your injuries. She will consider economic and noneconomic damages as well as your current and future financial needs. We will fight to make sure your settlement offer is fair and adequately accommodates your needs.

Address Your Business’s Needs

In our experience, spinal cord injuries don’t just end with a personal injury claim. Business owners who suffer a spinal cord injury may need to make arrangements for stepping down or selling their share of a business, which requires an extensive understanding of business law.

In such cases, you can turn to attorney Fatima Hassan-Sallam at Salam & Associates, PC. Her counsel is backed by 25 years of experience handling a variety of business matters. She can walk you through any legal matter or transaction to ensure that your injury does not harm your business.

Address Your Family Needs

Caring for your children and family and other household tasks can prove challenging if not impossible after suffering a spinal cord injury. If you are not native to the United States, you may want the support of family and close relatives, but not know how to bring them to this country lawfully.

Attorney Fatima Hassan-Sallam can answer immigration questions and help you petition for the necessary travel visas for family members coming to stay with you.

Get in Touch With Us Today

If you suffered a spinal cord injury because of someone else’s negligence, you are entitled to compensation. If you aren’t able to get it on your own, we encourage you to contact our firm to take advantage of a free 30-minute initial consultation.

We serve individuals and families throughout Texas and New Mexico. Simply call 972-437-1900 or send us an email to set up an appointment. We can even travel to you if it’s more convenient. Hablamos español.